Urinetown opened on Broadway on September 20, 2001, just days after 9/11. It was one of the few shows that survived an opening during that calamitous time. It went on to run for another two and a half years. What was its pee-culiar appeal?
The show’s author, Greg Kotis, was inspired by a trip he took to Paris as a young person during which he had to decide whether to apply his meager funds to the pay-to-use public toilet or buy a baguette. Admittedly, the idea is a bit of a trifle for creating a show, but it did evoke some of the bigger societal concerns of the early 2000s: widening gaps between the haves and have-nots; government and corporate collusion; and the anger, anarchy and potential for destruction by a disenfranchised population when these conditions exist. A quarter of a century later, most of us see these conditions as more troubling than ever.
We might also question whether the author’s satirical intent works as well when many of our public figures feel like they were cast by Lorne Michaels for Saturday Night Live. When the tools of satire (ridicule and exaggeration) become the vernacular of politicians and media, does satire still serve a useful social function?
Yet, these questions miss the point. Urinetown is funny. And as Zero Mostel said, “The freedom of any society varies proportionately with the volume of its laughter.” May your laughter (and your peeing) be voluminous tonight — be sure to use our free restrooms before settling in for the show!
Mo LaMée, director